by Olivia
Last night my concept of time reshaped to make room for the most mind blowing theory. A theory that allows each and every one of us to experience moments uniquely. This idea is based on the relativity of simultaneity. Imagine two people standing on opposite ends of a crowd. When these two people move at similar moments, a major decision is being made in the Andromeda galaxy, 2.5 million light-years away, and because of slight relative motion, that makes us perceive each event happening “right now” in Andromeda differently. One person might be experiencing what they define as the present while others are waiting for it in the future. When you look at it from a close standpoint in time, moments seem almost identical but something as far away as the Andromeda universe, differences can translate to seeing things days apart from someone else or even years. For example when you look up at the night sky, me and you aren’t seeing the same stars. The star’s light I see has traveled light years to reach my eyes, but because of the Andromeda effect, the light from stars that I see could still take days to reach your eyes even if you’re sitting a few feet away from another person. That means every time you are sitting under the night sky it’s almost like the universe made a specific pattern of stars just for you.